POLICE: Teen Thugs Steal Car then Crash Killing a Child

MIDLAND, TX – Midland police investigators say a gang of teens stole a car Friday morning and then caused a crash that killed a young girl. 

According to a press release, an 11-year-old girl died when a stolen vehicle ran a stop sign crashing into the vehicle she was in.

An officer was dispatched to the 1000 block of Upland St. around 7 a.m. Friday. The complainant stated that he started his Ford F-250 and returned inside to allow the pickup to warm up. When he returned outside, his vehicle was gone.

The Midland police and fire departments were dispatched to the intersection of Eisenhower and Leisure at about 7:30 a.m. in reference to a two-vehicle crash. Upon arrival at the scene, first responders found a Ford Explorer occupied by a severely injured woman and a girl, who had died at the scene. The other vehicle involved in the wreck was the pickup stolen on Upland Street.

Witnesses at the crash scene told police three juvenile males fled the crash scene. A K-9 unit and a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter were called in to search for the suspects. 

Then a second stolen vehicle report was made in the 3700 block of Roosevelt Ave. in southwest Midland.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Friday, police were dispatched to a crash at Alpine St. and Douglas Dr. in west Midland involving a Dodge Charger. A juvenile matching the description of one of the males from the previous crash was witnessed fleeing eastbound through the alley.

The MPD K-9 unit was again used to track the juvenile. Officers were led to an apartment complex in the 1100 block of North Midkiff Rd. In one of the apartments, they found several male juveniles; three matched the description of those involved in the fatal wreck according to police. 

All of the juveniles were detained. Officers determined that three of the juveniles detained had been involved in the theft of the Ford and the subsequent crash that resulted in the death of the 11-year-old girl and serious bodily injuries to the driver in the first crash, as well as the theft of the Dodge Charger.